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Running list of discoveries
Below are brief descriptions of items that a new character would experience, but that may not get explicitly explained every time a new player encounters them. These are like the meta-gamed greys notes. Antecronus (AC) Ship The crew wakes up on an Antecronus vessel (aka Precursors, Prothean, The Ancients, Progenitors, Forerunners, Heechee, The Creators, etc... ), Which uses a sort of psychic VR to allow it's crew to use its features. However, all of these ancient artifacts, while still full capable of dealing outrageous amounts of violence, are very deeply broken. Typically, it does not contain any mission references, weapons, or FTL coordinates when the crew acquires it. As the crews goes along, they may repair or upgrade broken systems. Sensors Typically human vision ranges from about 120 degrees by 70 degrees, and only sees a tiny portion of the EM spectrum (visible light). By 2073, with have decent sensors that can see a lot of the EM spectrum. We have a few fancy sensors measuring gravity too. On an Antecronus vessel the sensors see in all directions equally, 360 by 360 degrees. They see the full EM spectrum, as well as 9 other sensors types entirely, one of which is Gravity. Juicing a regular ole human brain with all that data immediately makes a character ill, and immediately terminates the connection. Typically we roll a single d12, failure means that the character got a little too much juicing and they barf on themselves. The VR can be consulted from there to tame the sensors stream into usable and understandable data, but this remains a unique experience to each character. All systems appear to each crewmember unique to their understanding of the system. Crewmembers may upgrade these to form VI's, and they may share VIs with each other. AC Computer System (aka Glyphs) These typically appear as a sphere full of small "stars", pinpoints of light throughout the objects volume. When a crewmember interacts or has queries for any system, it's corresponding sphere will appear, and slowly rotate/turn. It may spin, turn side to side, zoom and refocus, etc.. The idea behind them is that they are higher dimensional objects, and every single possible visual effect of the sphere contains at least a word or sentence, spelled out by the points of light on its interior. The entire ball is one very condensed idea. As the crewmember advances their knowledge of this system, with or without interacting with the sphere, the sphere "spins" faster. The crew may attempt to "Hack" these using their glyph with computer+ roll, although usually at a steep penalty. Sensors, General Matter based An interesting sensor, it simply detects what matter is present, without the need for refractive light/energy. Sound and Sonar could be interpreted as on this spectrum, indirectly. This sensor also detects AntiMatter, although it is typically rare. EM This is the sensor humans best understand. Visible light, Infrared and Ultraviolet, Radio Waves / Radar. Interestingly, this directly picks up Magnetic features as well, to include the occasional monopole. Fission/Fusion These are detectable through the EM they produce, but this sensor picks up the events directly, even through heavy shielding. Gravity Humans have dabbled in this sensor, but this allows for the full spectrum to be visible. Radical Isotope This sensor is very lonely, and only seems to note where "Crystal" is inside of a system. NegEn particles When these particles interact which any other particle, they both cease to exist. This sensor will typically be "dead" or otherwise unnoticed until these particles are detected in rare and clustered systems. Tachyon An ambient field, all running in one direction is typically observed. No natural process appears to disturb them. They seem to congeal near gravity wells. Will indirectly effect Temporal readings. Heavy concentration will "stick" to Bugs wings and FTL drives and prevent safe Jumping. Mass Reaction The ship uses this to create new materials from matter/energy or deconstruct existing materials to reclaim their energies. This sensor can detect those rare events. Temporal An ambient field, all running in one direction (opposite of Tachyons) is typically observed. No natural process appears to disturb them. They seem to congeal near gravity wells. Will indirectly effect Tachyon readings. This energy seems to dispel or disarray Tachyon concentrations. Psychic / Life Any living creature is discovered via this sensor, and psychic events are also visible via this sensor. Otherwise, its very straightforward. Armor and shielding may block the readings, but anything alive will always read, even if it is very faint. FTL Faster than Light travel. We go instantly between two different stars. The Jump event (both in and out) creates a very very loud *BOOP* which is viewable on all sensor types. No possible way to reduce its loudness, as it technically occurs before you arrive/after you leave. This is loud enough that our current day post-industrial Earth NORAD and other watch stations would be alerted, and it extremely obvious to starships and space stations of all types. The ship must be outside the stars gravity well (typically around 300lm), and have sufficient energy supplied to the FTL device(around 15-20 energy units). From there, the Spooler with accumulate(?something?) to 100% and a safe Jump is possible. The spooler has an override to allow un-spooled or partly-spooled Jumps, but using it is lethal. Getting new FTL coordinates There are two ways to get FTL coordinates. The easiest is being given or stealing coords from another species/vessel. There is still technically math though, but the many hours between receipt of those coords and the edge of the system typically get handwaved as "You solved them, and go!" The second is scanning down various places in each system of a constellation. If the new constellation is frequently traveled, there may be some residual effects on the large mass bodies in those systems. Greys They look like the stereotypical grey alien, and frequently offer assistance. This comes at a price, and the creatures will use the qualifier "as per your customs" to intentionally signify that their customs are not in effect; implications unknown. They do typically offer the crew a cloaking device without strings attached. Their starships are always small, disc shaped, cloaked, and incredibly fast. Only violent species name things. The Grey should have, at some early point in the campaign, have given you the warning|admonishment that only violent species use names(personal pronouns). As language forms from ideas, and language forms new ideas, the observation shows that creatures who assign items and creatures names are of the mindset that "This thing is different from that thing" which typically devolves into "My thing is better than your thing." and finally "You are less than me, so *this* isn't murder." Creatures that do not name things still designate items and people, but they do it with generalized monikers. For instance, when a Grey is onboard the crews ship, it's designation will become its job title. When a new title is given, then so is their moniker. The Plants typically refer in the 2nd person. The Octos group based on in-born purpose, versus current status. The bugs are "we" and "Mother", without exception. Plants They are a giant living space station, found in proto-planetary discs. They are non-hostile and gladly trade data for energy units, among other things. Their colors are often dark greens and dark purples, and their air and their items always smell bad. No one ever attacks the Plants, for any reason. Never. No one knows why. Saurothrop Finally, the main antagonist in the game. They are giant monster-lizard-werewolf-demons who stand around 3-4 meters high. They are silicon based lifeforms and live comfortably in temperatures around 700F. They are from Primordial planets but can inhabit/terraform Volcanic and Greenhouse worlds as well. Saurothrop are almost always adorned with a small shoulder pet, a bit of fluff with piercing eyes. Close proximity to these creatures will slowly mold the wearer thoughts and personality into a "feral" state: antisocial, aggressive, xenophobic, narcissism, etc.. But short term exposure seems to have these traits temporary. Their main starship type is Battleship, although typically their starships appear to have been commissioned mid-construction, with haphazard armor plating and arbitrarily placed systems in the gaps/unfinished portions. Often fleets of Battleships will have an auxiliary ship or few, to cover systems not specifically required by the Battleships, to include manufacturing capabilities and the heavy grade gravity weapons used to crack planets. Their battle doctrine is usually overwhelming force, firing fusion bombs until they are too close and then switching to heavy plasma based particle beams (aka lasers) to tear into foes at close range. In a personal combat fight, they are blindingly fast and unbelievably tough. They can survive in hard vacuum for over 15 minutes and are individuals are usually clad in spacesealed armor in battle situations. They have pouches for their shoulder pets, and will become completely bloodlusty if their shoulder pet dies, as these creatures have none of the bonus features of their wearers. These creatures are separated by numerous clans that are constantly infighting. Clans will unify immediately if faced with an alien threat, and all savor the act of Xenocide. They unilaterally believe in the semi-religious doctrine that calls for the total destruction of all life, among other things. The Civil War An ascended clan has been convinced to toss aside Xenocide and Doctrine, and instead become a single empire with other creatures becoming their battle thralls. Bugs We got giant spaceborne bugs. They use their wings as giant solar sails, except they interfere with all sensor types and don't seem to be necessarily confined to what direction they are headed versus the orientation to the star, although they can exit systems more easily than entering them. They can alter their own DNA in real time and that of their larvae. One notable example is after a few ships being struck with a Tachyon weapon, they grew plasma thrusters, since their wings are exceptionally vulnerable. They fire their larvae at planets, asteriods, and enemy ships. The larvae consume anything in their path and become full fledged starships. These ships consume matter/energy and grow larger, from size class one (Fighters) to at least size class 5 (Batlleships) Individual bugs typically defer their decisions to "Mother". They are extremely straightforward and rudimentary in their transmissions. They ask for things they find high-value and offer things they find as low value, but their perceptions and the crews needs can often be quite different, to the favor of the crew. Javvan 16 thousand years ago, The Greys found Earth and became ~friends~ with the humans they found. Great empires formed, combined their power and founded a truly global society based on reason and advanced technologies. The Greys were withholding FTL tech, and the Humans became distrustful. In a great act defiance, they stole the FTL technology, interfaced it into their entire mega-city, and Jumped to fates unknown. Since then, divergent evolution and heavy genetic modification has left the Javvan a separate species from their earthbound cousins. They rely on advanced technology that runs on psychic energies. Their generational ships (battleship or carrier sized) have been built to withstand heavy fire from Saurothrop forces, and the Javvan main offensive weapons can often crack Saurothrop armor. Still, they are grossly outnumbered. Javvan are organized by tribe, with tribal groups forming from personal ritual combat (Starships are far too valuable to risk). They use a unique way of forming new technologies. Elders meditate while consuming psychoactive substances, and via something akin to collective unconscious, acquire the process to fabricate the solution to their meditations; they have no science or system of discovering natural laws. Octos These dudes came from a Hydrocarbon planet and were approximately as advanced as 2073 humans at the time they were originally discovered by the Saurothrop. Due to their unique physiology and need for heavier space suits, they were able to survive smashing their remaining ships into Saurothrop battleships, and were able to take those ships by surprise, Jumping to parts unknown. They currently form carrier ships out of the scrapped hulls of enemies. They install massive ship-long gauss cannons to launch their warriors at enemy ships (while retaining a reduced number of enemy weapons too). The bullets have one or more fully ballte ready troops ewearing power armor of octo design. The power armor comes equipped with a gauss cannon fletchette gun, sprewing hundreds of rounds a second designed to pierce Saurothrop armor. Any Octo who helps capture a ship becomes a citizen of the resultant carrier. Octos who have not captured other ships, are non-citizens, and very little value is placed on their rights. Only citizens are allowed to breed. The Octos are untrusting, but will lend warriors out to anyone heading into combat, with the hope that they return citizens (and if not, their deaths aren't counted). Octos are probably the least-shitty alien in the game. Jellies Crew found the Jellies, although The Bugs had been through the constellation relieving planets of their water. They are currently non-technic, and their homeworld has not been discovered. More to come.